Craigbank

In the early 1950s, my gran and papa volunteered to leave their Victorian tenement in White Street, Partick to move to a new council estate on the outskirts of the city of Glasgow in an area called Nitshill. The estate was called Craigbank and they moved to 35 Newfield Square which overlooked a bowling green. They moved in in May 1951 when my mum had just turned seventeen. The flat had three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It had central heating and hot water. It was so much better than the two roomed (plus kitchen) cold water flat they had lived in even if that had had an indoor toilet. This isn't 35 but it is very close by.

Of course, White Street is now utterly desirable, the sandstone has been scrubbed clean of its blackness and is now a gorgeous red, and it is still standing. Whereas, Newfield Square and the rest of Craigbank has been demolished and seemingly abandoned. I don't know how it happened but the area stopped being a nice place and by the time my gran was widowed she was happy to move to Shettleston. It deteriorated further and it appears that demolition was the best thing for it.

I lived with my mum, gran and papa for six months or so while my dad was on exercises and I attended Levern Primary School on Drumbeg Drive/Prestwick Street. That too has been demolished and since 1998 has been left to itself. Saplings are now well over six feet and if nothing is done there will soon be a wood where there was a playground.

Comments

I too lived in Newfield Square. Number 31 just in the corner. I think you lived in the close where the Downeys were on the ground floor. I also attended Levern Primary School. My parents moved to the Square when I was 10 months old in 1954. We moved to East Kilbride when I was sixteen. Newfield Square until that point was still ok but it had gradually started to go down hill.
I can only remember good things about Craigbank. I loved my childhood there. Very happy memories.

Thank you for your comment Alice. I'm glad you had happy memories. It's such a shame that Craigbank been obliterated now. One of my memories includes going to get Polo or Trebor mints from the shops (which are still there) for my Papa so that he could sook them while checking the pools.

my family moved to no. 2 new field sq. when I was 7 yrs old and stayed there till I got married in1966. It was a lovely place with the bowling green and tennis courts in the sq. we lived facing the chapel house and used to climb the wall to get apples from their garden. Happy days, sorry it's such a sad sight now.

This is really interesting. I lived at no 21 Newfield Square until 1975 when I was 18. It was a lovely place to be a child and then it changed. I have very good memories and one sad one when I returned and drove around to have a look- what I saw was shameful how a community was 'engineered down' until it became awful. When I was a child Newfield Square was an oasis for cycling, football, tennis, putting as well as a beautiful bowling green. It used to be so well kept full of friendly people.

That's it - "engineered down" - that sort of degeneration doesn't happen without help. It's surely not just natural decline. The tragedy is they were nice flats - spacious, warm, well laid out. When I see how attractive renovated modernist accommodation (and, of course, former tenements in Partick) can be, it is heartbreaking.

I lived at 33 newfield square up to 1973 and was still a respectable area,Our neighbours were (top to bottom) the bonnelies/murphy/macpherson/reid/littlejohn, and was a very pleasant place to live then with bowling green still active,my dad was a TV engineer and went round fixing folks tellys after work in the evenings,i have very fond memories of living there,my friend was Ronnie jack,and we went about on our scooters....I now live in east lothian

I was born in Drumbeg Drive 1955 And attended Levern Primary school . Wonderful memories of sunny days having enough money to use the courts in Newfield square buying the weekly Judy or penny carmels from the H&M paper shop spent hours looking at there window. Devastating to see how it got so run down my mum finally moved out in 2003 she had lived in the house since it was built in the early 50,s can't believe it's all gone.
Thank you for sharing your photo's and memories.

We moved to Houehillwood rd from Partick 52/53. Then moved to Prestwick Street for a top floor flat at number 40. All four of us went to Levern Primary. Happy memories of sledding down the wee hill, playing in the "long" grass and trying to cross the burn in the same fields opposite. Does anyone remember the great bonfires? Happy days in a great community it's sad to see it all run down .

Stumbled across this site while looking for information on district heating schemes in 1950s Glasgow. We lived at 32 Newfield Sq from the early/mid 50s until 1969 when we moved to Yorkshire. Fond memories of playing in the close, jumping off the middens & over the backs to get to Levern primary. I still remember my all time favourite teacher- Miss Anderson inP6. Other families in our close - the Severns, Clarence's Smiths,Morgans and Lavertys(?)
It was a great place to grow up but had already started to change for the wosrse in the year or two before we flitted south. Couldn't believe it had all been knocked down on my last visit - along with Leven Primary & Craigbank Comp.... its like loosing some of your childhood

I have just come across this thread. My family lived in Newfield Square - I think it was number 25. We moved in to East Kilbride in 1968 when I was 5. I have lovely memories of the square. My grannie Hughes & Uncle Joe also lived on the square diagonally across from us. My aunt May & Uncle Bill Kavanagh and cousins lived just around the corner but I don't remember the street name.

Hi its david mcpherson. David we stayed below the bonnelies with there big jaguar my brother george sister carole. Mum n Dad .Brother george passed away sadly this year .i always rememberd your dad was always fixing cars .iam now happily living down shawlands . cheers

I stayed in no 4 new field square I stayed there until I was 18 yrs we moved to linthaugh road .we had good summers on the square playing tennis and putting .Mr puddister was the green keeper. I had a brother Iain and a sister Joyce and a little brother ewan. Gilmour.xx

I lived at 7 Newfield Square from c1955 until I left home aged 20 in 1971. My parents left the Square in the mid 70s to go to East Kilbride. Wonderful childhood in the Square, playing football, kick the can, hide and seek etc. Very safe place for kids at the time. Great shame how it went down the pan. 6 flats in our close, us the Hugheses, the Andersons, the Weirs, the Merricks and the Dunlops. Happy days.

Hi Sam. Alison Mitchell here. Your family lived directly above us in No 21 Newfield Square. I now live in Partickhill in west of the city. Couldn’t believe the decline in Newfield Square / should never have been allowed to happen. Have very happy memories of playing in the Square

Hi John, I lived at no 9 Newfield Square above George Kydd, I remember you well and your brothers Stevie and Michael. If I remember right Patricia married and went to Canada? I live in Giffnock these days, didn't move that far. Very happy memories of growing up in Newfield Square. Do you also remember the Reids, Haydocks, McConnechies, across the road from you?